Indian nuclear aspirations got a boost when the upcoming uranium mine in the state of Andhra Pradesh was found to have three times the original estimated deposits. The mine in Tumalapalli has been reported to have 49,000 tonnes of uranium with indications that the total quantity could be more than 150,000 tonnes.
India has so far been procuring uranium from France and Kazakhstan. It also have two function uranium mines in the state of Jharkhand. The total reserves there are in the range of 170,000 tonnes. With the discovery of the Tumalapalli deposit the dependence on foreign supplies will be lowered greatly.
If the estimates are accurate then Tumalapalli will have one of the largest uranium mines in the world. The resources are enough to support a 8,000 MW capacity nuclear power plant for the next 40 years. Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Srikumar Banerjee said that uranium deposits in Tumalapalli appeared to be spread over 35 km.
Dr Banerjee added that the new findings would only augment the indigenous supply of uranium. There would still be a significant gap. India would still have to import uranium. He said that nuclear power is absolutely essential to meet the growing energy needs of the country. If the economy has to grow by 9 per cent per annum, we need a 10 per cent growth in electricity production. We cannot do without nuclear power.